Something's out of whack here...

In an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal by its senior economics writer, Stephen Moore, is this scary bit of information: “More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined.”

"Like a canary in a coal mine..."

Like a canary in a coal mine that suddenly stops singing, the signs are all there…

From Larry Johnson of No Quarter – “[Larry Doyle] interviewed the founder and President of the Consumer Metrics Institute, Richard Davis. Why should you care? Davis has developed a system for using data readily available in the public sector to accurately track what is really going on in the economy. And the news is not good. Richard Davis has his hands on tracking what consumers are really doing (or not doing). Here’s the bottom line–if consumers ain’t consuming the economy ain’t growing. Click on the link in Larry’s article. Listen to Larry and please, please give Richard Davis some of your precious time. You may not feel better after listening but you will be better informed.”

Yes we can…dismantle the economy in four years. (h/t: Ann Marlowe)

Florida, Florida, Florida: the Sunshine State’s unemployment numbers are its highest – EVER.

Interest rates to rise? – former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Calls Treasury Yields ‘Canary in the Mine.’

Add Treasury: So why lack of interest…which will probably lead to a rise in interest (rates)? Chalk another win up for ObamaCare!

Add ObamaCare: Wait, I thought passing that bill would result in a bump in the polls…

The "coal mine?"

As if you didn’t know, who is making out when it comes to pay? Those on government payrolls. (Surprised?)


Making the Stimulus work for...you or someone on your dime?

Crash!

With the economy in shambles, Afghanistan hotter than ever, Stimulus package job numbers inflated, Iran still futzing around with nukes, the health insurance reform bill still tugging at America’s soul, and Michael Bloomberg spending $102 million to be mayor of New York City, it’s no wonder everything feels like it’s out-of-sync and crashing down.

What surprises me isn’t that the White House party crashers met the president, it’s that they didn’t have to pay to do it, or that they aren’t from the SEIU’s leadership. (Video, via John Batchelor, here.)


Samantha Appleton/The White House
In a photo released by the White House, President Obama greeted Michaele and Tareq Salahi, right, at his first state dinner on Tuesday. (h/t: NYT)

Crashing the Barricades? – Can you believe people actually lined-up overnight (or in some cases, earlier) to be among the first during early Black Friday hours…for the privilege of buying merchandise?


"When Black Friday comes..."

Dubai, a promise built on a foundation made of sand, began crashing down this week. Why is everyone so shocked?


"Enter Sandman..."

After Big Government detailed a story of investigators crashing San Diego’s ACORN dumpster and dredged-up damning documents, why wouldn’t California’s Attorney General address the matter in a straight-forward manner?


The Portrait of Dorian Brown...

Other notable recent crashes:

It’s really no wonder traditional, mainstream media/journalism is crashing … big-time. (They just don’t get it.) They really don’t.

Apparently, Joe Biden is rather prescient. Way back in 2008, he predicted this crash.

It appears the U.S. dollar is crashing…even lower. This time against the Yen.

It’s not the crash some feared but it’s not a heartwarming tale of immediate recovery that was hoped for, either: “The Federal Reserve has delivered a rather bleak forecast for the U.S. economy, not just in the short-term, but in the medium-term as well. The Fed is predicting that the unemployment rate will be in just below 10 percent at this time next year and in the 6.8 to 7.5 percent range at the end of 2012. In other words, while we may not see a jobless recovery, the Fed thinks we'll experience a slow motion one.” (h/t: Power Line)

Finally, I think Tiger Woods got it wrong today. It’s not “Drive for show and putt for crash.”

A case of bad driving?

We're from the government and we're here to help

(h/t: http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/ )

This week marks the 10th anniversary of a reason we’re in the mess we’re in: the GOP Congress and President Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act. In short, it killed some pretty important aspects of banking laws dating back to the Great Depression. Restrictions on interplay between commercial banks and investment banks were essentially eliminated.

As reported in The New York Times, “’Commercial banks played a crucial role as buyers and sellers of mortgage-backed securities, credit-default swaps and other explosive financial derivatives,’ Demos, a nonpartisan public policy and research organization, wrote in a report discussing the problems it said were caused by the repeal of Glass-Steagall. ‘Without the watering down and ultimate repeal of Glass-Steagall, the banks would have been barred from most of these activities,’ Demos said. ‘The market and appetite for derivatives would then have been far smaller, and Washington might not have felt a need to rescue the institutional victims.’”

And the news just gets better: “U.S. deficit sets October record of $176.4 billion”

Is there a bigger idiot than Chicago Mayor Richard Daley? You’d be hard-pressed to find one.


King Idiot...

Finally, did you know that “More Stimulus Equals More Unemployment?” You do now…